Lambeau has been diagnosed with lymphoma

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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It's going to be a LONG post and I will be updating here as his treatment progresses.

I am doing this on the inspiration of @nubonics and her logging of Curleyā€™s journey with lymphoma. I think it is important for us all to share this information to help others afterall that is a big part of EBN existence to share experiences and knowledge. Nuā€™s thread and posts helped me over the last few weeks, along with @rjisaterp posts of Jewel and Bentleyā€˜s journey. I hadnā€™t posted or told anyone about this prior because it made it too real and I just wasnā€™t ready to go there until we had more understanding of what we were dealing with.

It all started on 7/19, a little blood in stool, I made note and the next day when it was in his poo again. I drove a sample to our vet for testing. A few days later results come back cleanā€¦ no issues found. Blood is still there and Cheli then has some in his poo, so I think, well, maybe we got a bad batch of raw food. I throw away that weekā€™s batch and put the boys on bland diet for a few days, pumpkin was already being given so that continued with bland diet.

I then find a lump on Lambeauā€™s neck which was around 7/29-7/30. We call make an appointment with our vet, but due to vacations and short staff, first available was 8/15. We werenā€™t overly concerned because Lambeau was 1000% normal otherwise; nothing was off other than the blood in his poo. Mind you, it was not a lot, just a little on the end at this point. Not only was he normal, but appetite was on, he was eating, no vomit or temperature. Seriously, all was spot on normal, even his play. Around 8/2, I find a second lump.. call vet to get an earlier appointment, soonest is now 8/9 and we are on cancellation list for a call if any time opens up. Beau is still 100% normal.

On 8/7 we go for their monthly laser session with our favorite vet tech. Since blood was still in Beauā€™s poo and Cheli was on/off we dropped off samples for testing again. We are chatting and we tell him about the lumps and we are coming back on Tuesday to see one of the doctors as our normal vet is on vacation. Tech immediately gets down and starts checking the lumps and inspecting Beau. He stands up and says, Iā€™m getting you an appointment today... leaves the room for a bit, comes in and says there is only one vet on staff today and he will be in to see us after we finish laser. As Ian is doing the laser therapy, he is telling us that every one of Beau lymph nodes are swollen, front, sides, legs, all of them.

We finish laser and go to a different exam room, we end up being there for three hours. Blood work, full physical exam, then fluid was taken from two nodes to send off for testing which would take about a week to get back. They did in house blood work tests, Beauā€™s white count was a little elevated, but otherwise the vet stated there was absolutely nothing remarkable in the levels that would indicate why his nodes were all swollen, but they are obviously reacting to something in his system. We leave with three medicines and lots of questions. Your mind immediately starts going through every sneeze, twist, cough or sideways glance trying to figure out what we might have missed.

8/11 we get the call, he has lymphoma. We are crushed. He is only 7 years old and has been in fantastic health for his whole life. Biggest issue was in grown tail and a fatty tissue tumor when he was under two years old and of course the typical allergies. Both poo tests from 8/7 came back clean so food is also ruled out being a cause of any issues for both boys. Cheli is obviously, at this point we realize, stressed with what is going on causing him to have that little spot of blood.

8/15 we meet with our vet of 18+ years it was mostly just a conversation, no real info or additional diagnosis as he is not an oncologist nor is there one at his office. He did do a biopsy on 8/16 to confirm diagnosis as well as find out the type of lymphoma (type B or T), by the way that is an additional test outside of the biopsy. The type of lymphoma determines the protocol to be used by the oncologist. The test results would take 7-14 days to come back so the only thing we can do till we meet an oncologist and have those results is support careā€¦ basically, keep him comfortable.

When we got home we called the two locations our vet recommended near us for oncology. The first place we called, 10/14 was the first available appointment, which I booked and placed on cancellation list. Lewis called the other place and first available was 8/31, which he booked. At this point, it is a waiting game till we get to one of those appointments.

We have been sleeping in the basement of our home on the floor since this all started to make it easier for Lambeau getting out in the yard as quick as possible because by now, he has constant diarrhea and when it hits, it is urgent. He was getting increasingly uncomfortable to where we had to give him Trazadone to help him relax and be able to sleep.

On Sunday 8/21 Lewis noticed the nodes on Lambeauā€™s neck seemed even bigger. We had some family stop in to visit and Lambeau seemed good all that time even interacted and napped a bit, which we were thankful since he had not slept well on Saturday night. Shortly after my niece and nephew left Lambeau stating panting and could not relax. Around 7:30 Lewis started calling ERs within an hour ride of our home to see if we could get him in; again short staffing has ERs not readily able to take all or there is a massive wait time. First place we call is where we have the 10/14 oncology appointment they have an 8 HOUR wait! Second place, they do not have an oxygen tank big enough for Lambeau to fit in. Third place, where we have the 8/31 oncology appointment, they could take him, but if he went into a need for a breathing tube they would not be able to handle due to not having a surgeon on staff that night. Fourth place, not a great reputation/reviews, but could take him right in. It is a 55 minute ride to get there, they ask for our ETA so they can meet us at door to take him right to an oxygen tank and that they did.

The team there was awesome, incredibly caring, attentive, informative and compassionate. Lambeau nodes in his throat had swelled so big they were placing pressure on his wind pipe/trachea so he was struggling to breathe. They placed him in the oxygen tank while we discussed the current situation, the diagnosis we had and what they could do to help get him stable. As stressful as the whole night was, it turned out to be a Godsend, this ER was also an oncology center, but the oncologist was on leave so we could not get any appointments or meetings with them, however they could administer a chemo treatment with our approval. Lambeau spent the night; they gave him a shot of Lspar and started him on high dose prednisone which allowed the swelling in the nodes to begin to slowly go down. He came home on Monday night and it has been an up/down roller coaster of different issues on the daily. Needing to poo or pee at least two or three times an hour. Then not eating or being ravenous, drinking water like crazy due to the prednisone, sleepless nights due to panting and discomfort.

Our vet and our vet tech have been a tremendous support to us; once they saw the report that Lambeau was in the ER that Sunday night they actually called every oncologist in a three-hour radius of our home trying to get us an emergency appointment on that Monday (8/22). Unfortunately, there were absolutely none that would accept him so we wait till 8/31.

8/31, we meet with the oncologist at Blue Pearl in Malvern. We brought the doctor up to date on everything from 7/19 till 8/31. Unfortunately at the time of the appointment we still did not have the type of lymphoma testing results back so she did not want to go into protocols or prognosis until she has that information. She did state general information on short and long term diagnosis, but overall she wanted to wait to talk specifics. Regardless of type, the first four treatments are the same so Lambeau did get his second treatment which was Vincristine via IV that day and so far is responding well as the nodes seem to be back to normal size. She did have us start to wean him off the prednisone which I am thankful for as Iā€™m not a fan, but understand they are a necessary evil right now.

The one thing our vet and the oncologist cannot find an answer for is the constant diarrhea that started before any medicine or chemo treatment and has been consistent. It is straight liquid or pudding like poo. Nothing and I mean nothing we have done over the past 6 weeks has stopped it. Pumpkin, green beans, bland diet, metronidazole, three other types of diarrhea medicines, now we are tying bland diet again with Imodium AD, three days in and still liquid.

9/6 we went to our vet, emergency visit. We called as soon as they opened; Lambeauā€™s abdomen is hard as a rock and he is not wanting to eat. Joe checks him over does an ultrasound and shows/explains all his organs and abdomen look great all normal.. no tumors, lumps, or fluid.. all is good. Why the liquid diarrhea and rock hard belly is still a mystery right now. He gave us Xanax to try and keep him settled at night and lessen the panting.

Next oncology appointment is Friday 9/9 paperwork from previous appointment shows he is due to get cytoxan. We should get more specific info on protocol and prognosis as the type testing came back on Thursday 9/1 it is Type B which gives us hope that he can go into remission. One thing to know, regardless of remission, lymphoma in dogs is not curable like in humans. Dogs can go into remission multiple times, but never are cured. Prognosis can be anywhere from 2 to 18 months depending on response to treatments and ability to go into remission.

Lambeau is raw fed four different proteins rotation since we got him at 10 weeks old. Along with that he gets raw goats milk which I am in the process of changing over to colostrum. He gets limited treats of those it is Stella/Chewy's duck meal toppers, watermelon, cheese and raw eggs, and every Saturday night since 10 weeks old he gets a raw marrow bone. He is not on any flea/tick topical for about 3 years opted to stop those since the raw seems to fen off for them (not saying that is case for all) but we have never had flea or ticks on them and I wasn't a big fan of them so just opted to stop. Heartworm for his whole life has been Sentinal which I also recently stop in July due to poo issues showing up and then I just opted to not give in August then once diagnosed I choose to stop it.

Our boy went for a monthly cytopoint shot and cold laser therapy and only yearly wellness check ups to... chemotherapy and 11 pills a day. I can't wrap my head around it.

I ask you all to keep Mush in your prayers that he not suffer and is able to be a fun loving pup with us for a little while longer.

I'll continue to post updates here as his journey progresses.
 

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cefe13

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Sending Lambeau healing thoughts and a big hug, and a hug to Cheli as well. Thinking of you all.
 

1Chumly

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Poor Lambeau. Sending hugs and prayers your way. šŸ™šŸ™šŸ™
 

Cbrugs

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Sending you big hugs and positive thoughts. We're rooting for you Beau!
 

benny

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What an exhausting several weeks you all have been through. Iā€™ll be keeping Beau in my thoughts. Thank you for documenting it all
 

Bulldog2001

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So sorry you and beau are going thru this.
My thoughts and prayers are with you.
 

oscarmayer

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a Bulldog Mom's nightmare...
I know you'll keep all of EBN well-informed.
I shared this with Sandy and asked her for any advice although we have very limited experience with cancers. What you have learned here with Roger and Nubonics is likely more than we could offer.
Sadly, I think you will be a Lymphoma expert when all is said and done.
Give Lambeau a really big hug from Sandy and me, please...hugs to your whole family!
 

Manydogs

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Christine, So many prayers for Lambeau, and YOU. This is my first read of your post, and my heart is racing. I am so shocked, as I am sure you are. Wish I was near to HUG you and be there for you and Lambeau.
Things are getting very scary here lately....
 
OP
2BullyMama

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
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Christine, So many prayers for Lambeau, and YOU. This is my first read of your post, and my heart is racing. I am so shocked, as I am sure you are. Wish I was near to HUG you and be there for you and Lambeau.
Things are getting very scary here lately....
Thank you Miss Lynn! Hugs receivedā€¦ love you, stay safe! The whole world has become a side show of a circus.
 

helsonwheels

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Geez poor Lambeau. This is such a horrible couple months. Christine youā€™re a strong woman n very knowledgeable. Lambeau is in great hands. Youā€™re all in my thoughts. Sending you positive vibes. Hugs to the family ā¤ļø
 
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2BullyMama

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Jul 28, 2011
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Gilbertsville, PA
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Bulldog(s) Names
Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
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9/9 update - Unfortunately, I could not be at the appointment because Chelios was having issues and he needed to be seen by a vet which the appointment ended up overlapping.

Lewis said it was just an evaluation of how he looked and to check bloodwork.
The treatment for Lambeau will be for 16 weeks, with one off week in the process. He is responding well to the treatments thus far, his blood work looks great, his lymph nodes have gone down considerably, but not fully. The oncologist is expecting Lambeau to go into remission next week, but either way treatments will continue through the 16 weeks regardless. Her thoughts are that with how he is responding so far and him having type B, his prognosis would lean to the 12-18 month timeframe.

Third treatment is of Cyclophosphamide.
  1. We will give him 250mg of this medicine once a day for three days. This is the pill that requires you to wear gloves when giving it :(
  2. Continue Prednisone 10mg once a day until 14th, we will then go 10 mg every other day till the 20th and stop this drug
  3. Canalevia - only if needed for diarrhea - Beau still has runny, urgent poo that is unexplained.
As a follow-up to 9/6 vet visit... Lambeau had a very bad reaction to the Xanax (1/4 tablet), which we immediately determined we will never give him again. Banks actually did well on Xanax so we didn't think twice about giving beau a very small dose, well, proof in the pudding, not everything is good for all. We also stopped the gabapentin (prescribed on as needed basis, not necessary for treatment) as we (Lewis/I) want to see if it might be causing his hard abdomen and maybe contributing to the loose poo we can't explain. I say maybe, because the loose stools started way before gabby was in his system.

9/8 was monthly cold laser session , which was uneventful. We did opt to discontinue cytopoint shot at this time, will reevaluate if his allergies cause any issues.
 
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